Fluffy Multigrain Pull-Apart Rolls

I made these multigrain rolls last Sunday and then, like Pygmalion, I went and fell in love with them.

Okay, not really, I mean they are rolls, for heaven’s sake. But they were so fluffy, so tasty and quite so exquisite that they brought out the inner poet in me. Or gourmet. Or gourmand. Whatever. You get the idea.

These rolls combine the healthful goodness of wheat flour, oat flour, spelt flour and sorghum or jowar flour but the best thing about them is that they are rather easy to make. In fact a little too easy. As I thought up this recipe and went about baking it, I had a tiny feeling that they were too good to be true. So when they came out of the oven looking all hot and fresh and smelling like heaven I was almost certain they were going to do something awful, like collapse on themselves.

They didn’t. In fact they were so good that I couldn’t wait to share them with you. Try them if you are looking for one more healthy bread to add to your family’s diet and don’t worry if you don’t have one of the flours. Just substitute with more of another.

In a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the yeast with ½ cup of water and the sugar and set aside to activate, about five minutes.

In a bowl, sift together all the flours, salt, and baking soda.

Add the flours to the yeast mixture and mix by hand or in a stand mixer. Drizzle in the remaining water slowly. If you are working in a humid, damp atmosphere the way it was when I made the bread you may not need all the water, so don't add it all at once. Knead for 3-4 minutes until you have a smooth dough.

Add the oil and continue to knead until the oil is absorbed by the dough, another 3 minutes.

Shape the dough into a smooth ball and place in an oiled bowl, turning over once to coat the top with oil. Cover with a kitchen towel and place in a warm place until the dough has doubled, about 2 hours.

Punch down the risen dough on the countertop and divide it into 12 equal pieces.

Shape each piece into a rectangle by pulling the sides and tucking underneath. You want the rolls to have a smooth top and sides.

Place each roll in a lightly oiled 9 X 13 inch baking dish. The rolls should not touch each other.

Brush the tops lightly with oil, cover with a kitchen towel and set aside for about 90 minutes or until the rolls have risen to about twice their original size and are joined at the sides.

Bake the rolls in a 370-degree oven for 23 minutes until the tops are golden and the rolls sound hollow when you knock the tops with your knuckles.

Remove to a rack to cool and when the rolls are cool enough to handle remove them from the baking dish and continue cooling on the rack.

omg Vaishali, I am a convert! love the rolls. I have a coupla qs – what is spelt flour and where do I find it? did you buy Jower flour from Indian store? And oats flour, can I dry roast steel cut oats and powder it for that?

Hi Manu, spelt is a kind of wheat with a barley-like flavor. I usually buy it at Whole Foods but you can also find it on Amazon. Sub with wheat if you cannot find it. And yes, I buy the jowar at the Indian store. You can powder the oats but make sure you grind them really fine.